Deus Ex: Human Revolution had a lot to live up to. As a prequel to one of the most lauded PC games of all-time, it had try to maintain the open-world aspects of the original while simultaneously eliminating the perceived ‘dumbing down’ that the sequel (Invisible War) suffered from. It managed to succeed on both counts. Human Revolution is a great game and more than worthy of its place in Deus Ex canon.
The game starts out with a prologue featuring the protagonist, Adam Jensen, head of security at Sarif Industries (which, like many other things in the game is a name you may recognize if you were a fan of the original). You are introduced to the basic gameplay (moving, shooting, sneaking) and a few of the key characters. And then the story really starts to take off. In the year 2027, human augmentation (something which is commonplace in the original and its sequel) is still in the experimental stage. Doctors and biotechnology firms (like Sarif Industries itself) routinely come under fire for a perceived recklessness and dismissal of the human condition. Do we have the power to play God? Is it simply part of human nature to strive to better ourselves through technology? These are the sorts of questions that Human Revolution asks. This isn’t Gears of War with simplistic, macho one-liners and copious grunting. Like other games in the series, as the story moves forward, conspiracies and double-crosses become commonplace, but it never seems to stray too far (perhaps helped by the fact that the game is a prequel to an established storyline, thereby forcibly reigning itself in). Like most great Sci-Fi Noir (a la Blade Runner), it’s a story that has depth on the surface, but the more you put into it (by reading personal logs or various newspaper articles to flesh out the world) , the more you are rewarded.
As far as the gameplay goes, it’s sufficiently open-ended. Like many modern-day ‘sandbox’-style games, you find yourself with a ‘hub’ city which connects several missions throughout each city. No mission shoehorns you into completing it a certain way (though some offer bonuses for doing so – for instance, if you can sneak through an enemy gang hideout without being seen, you’ll be paid more). If you want to roll hard with heavy weapons and concussion grenades, go ahead. If you want to slyly eke your way past the guards, pausing every once in a while to knock a few guys unconscious and hide the bodies in lockers (Solid Snake style!), you can feel free to do that as well. If you want to eschew both ‘action-oriented’ manners and try and find a way to use tech savvy (by hacking turrets and turning them on your opponents, for instance) you are free to do that as well. The success you have in your chosen manner of dealing with these missions will depend on how you spend your experience points. As you level up, you acquire ‘praxis points’, which enable you to purchase augmentation enhancements which do different things such as enable you to run silently, take more damage, see through walls, etc. By the end of the game your character will be sufficiently powered to take any path you choose, but in the game’s gestation period you really have to cater your selections to the type of character you are interested in playing.
One of the biggest strengths is the way the game makes you feel invested in the world - as if your actions have real consequences. How quickly (or slowly, as the case may be) you complete certain objectives actually has a bearing on how the game plays out. I found this out the hard way as I purposely delayed starting an early mission so that I could wander around Sarif's offices, turning over every desk and looking for goodies - standard RPG fodder - and then I arrived to find the mission objectives had changed considerably owing to my delay. Things like this really serve to bring you into the story.
It's not all wine and roses, however, as Deus Ex has a few issues that are worth mentioning. At times it seems like the game steers you towards a certain gameplay path and for a game that prides itself so heavily on the freedom of choice, it can come across feeling a little constrictive. In addition, there are four separate boss fights which can be *extremely* frustrating for certain character builds. A better option would've been to eschew the boss fights altogether, or at least make them workable - a game like Fallout has shown that you can have a great RPG without making boss-fights a necessity.
I’ve always held that the real mark of a good single-player game is whether I find myself with any inkling to play through again after completing the main story. With Deus Ex, I finished it four times (so as to complete the four separate – and quite disparate – endings). It’s a marked improvement on the somewhat-flawed sequel, Invisible War, but still falls just short of the incredible heights of the original Deus Ex. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a worthwhile addition to Deus Ex canon and well worth the price of admission for fans of the series or sci-fi fans in general.
Geek Score: 8 out of 10 bacon strips
What I’m Reading: Green Lantern (The New 52) – Geoff Johns
What I’m Playing: Batman: Arkham City for 360
